There is wide spread interest in water conservation and specifically in capturing and reusing rainwater in both residential and commercial buildings to reduce costs, reduce the environmental impact of the building and lessen the load on the municipal sewer and stormwater systems in the arid southwest where droughts are a way of life.

Harvesting rainwater from rooftops is one solutions to conserving our precious water, where it can be used instead of municipal drinking water for many non-drinking water (i.e. non-potable) applications (e.g. landscape, toilet flushing) as well as drinking water.  There are two general types of rainwater catchment systems - "active" or "passive".   Most professionally installed systems incorporate aspects of both to maximize the water conserved.  >> More

Recyling is mainstream.  Most large and medium sized cities have a recycling program in place.  But why recycle when we

have plenty of empty land to trash?

For as long as I can remember my grandmother recycled.  She was way ahead of her time.  She thought it was just the right thing to do.  Sending stuff to a landfill did not make sense to her.  She recycled as much as she could.  She hauled newsletters to the local recycling center, took bottles back to the store and recycled  unwanted or discarded items to local second hand or goodwill stores.  In short, she was trying to have a smaller carbon footprint before those words entered the American vocabulary. 

Most larger Northern New Mexico communities now have a recycling program, this includes; Los Alamos, Taos, Santa Fe, Albuquerque and several of the other surrounding communities. In Santa Fe we have had a local pickup recycling for over a decade.  It has changed over the years, but it is now a citywide program, encompassing both businesses and residences.  On an average month, all of us combined are recycling several hundred tons of material (i.e.  paper ~270 tons, cardboard ~175 tons, plastic ~25 tons, tin ~15 tons, aluminum ~5 tons, other materials over 30 tons), and this does not include the cardboard and other materials that are being directly recycled by local businesses and residences not going through the City of Santa Fe program (e.g. local Albertson and other retail outlets directly recycle cardboard for cash).  This is over 500 tons not going to the landfill!

Making products with recycled materials, instead of from scratch saves the environment from destruction, but also saves energy and saves water.

For example, there is no limit to the number of times an aluminum can can be recycled.  It is estimated that it takes just 5% of the energy to produce a new can from an used one.  That is a 95% savings for every aluminum container recycled!

Glass is another great product that can be recycled.  It takes about 40% less energy to produce a new glass container from a used one; saving great amounts of energy, water, soda ash, limestone and sand. It takes about 1,000,000 years for glass to decompose in a landfill! 

 Just as importantly recycling cardboard and paper, not only saves trees it saves about 65% of the energy required to produce new paper products.  Plus reducing greatly the bleaches and harmful chemicals used to produce new paper and cardboard.  It is estimated that making a ton of paper from recycled materials saves about 7,000 gallons of water.  

Paper products are collected locally are bundled and shipped to recycling centers in New Mexico and Arizona. In as little as 30 days from the day recycled, a paper it could be back on your doorstep as your New Mexican. 

The materials Santa Fe collects for recycling is sold to recycling centers, thus we actually are getting paid for our waste products. 

A secret about recycling is it creates jobs. Job hauling, sorting, and remanufacturing recycled goods - all new jobs. The more we recycle the more jobs we create.   Recycling is not only environmentally sound, it a good economically sound  practice.  Recycling, whether a business or a residence, just makes good sense. My grandmother was just ahead of her time.  But she definitely gave me the recycle bug.  So let's start saving a boat load of water and a mountain of energy today - begin recycling if you aren't and increase what you recycle if you do.

Links:

Recycling Sites in Santa Fe

Article written by John Hammerstrom

This rainwater harvesting (RWH) system, with an above-ground, 7,500 gallon (usable) poured-concrete cistern, used for both potable and nonpotable purposes, was designed and constructed in 2001 as an integral part of a new single-family home in Key Largo, Florida. Rain is collected from a 1,700 square-foot white Galvalume roof and gathered in six-inch copper gutters with spash shields at roof valleys for occasional heavy downpours. Copper plumbing is used throughout the house as well.  Read full article>>

Question and Answer Session with John

John, first thank you for publishing the article on your home system.  It is a great reference for those interested in following in your footsteps and living on rainwater and solar.

1. One of the questions, that I have and I am sure many of the readers will have is - why?  Cisterns were always in the Keys, so it was a natural to build when we were building our new home.
   
2. Was 7,500 big enough?  No, it is not big enough.  Budget and space prevented us from putting in a bigger one. I have never met anyone that has a cistern too large.  Would have liked to go at least 50% larger.
3. Why concrete?  The house is made of concrete and it is part of the house structure.  Also it neutralizes acidity from rain and lastly it is widely available in our area.
4. Why an 8" cistern wall?  That is what the engineer advised.
5. Who designed the system?  I did.  I am ARCSA Accredited.
   
6. What is a rubber "dam" gasket?  It is a piece of rubber about 1/2" thick and about 8" wide comes in a roll.  It is put between the floor and wall to prevent any leakage.  Half of it is put in the base around the edges when it is poured and the other half is put into the wall when it is poured.
7. Do you use greywater?  No, I wish we did.  Regulatory barriers were a big issue in building green.  Greywater would have been another barrier and we did not have the time.
8. If you would to do it again, what would you do differently?  I would have smaller downspouts, design some way to move water between sides of the tank, consider using a floating extractor, a low level cut of switch to prevent the pump from burning out and re-analyze newer filtration methods.
   

If you have any questions, please submit and John will answer them to the best of ability.

By Stephen Wiman

In addition to its effects on biological and chemical processes, the variability of pH affects our decisions in domestic water usage. High-pH water often tastes bitter and may be an indication of the scaling potential of the water. Low-pH water may lead to the dissolution of pipes, particularly copper pipes. The EPA classifies pH under unregulated Secondary Drinking Water Standards and recommends a range between 6.5 and 8.5 pH units.

The term "pH" refers to the potential of hydrogen. The scale measures the logarithmic concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) and hydroxyl ions (OH-), which constitute H2O. Because the scale is logarithmic, a change in pH by a factor of 10 results in a change of one unit on the pH scale - the pH scale ranges from 0 to 14 and is a measure of the acidity/basicity of water. A neutral solution, with a pH of 7.0, is achieved when the activity ofH+ and OH- is balanced. Water that has more free hydrogen ions (over 7) is acidic and water that has more free hydroxyl ions (less than 7) is basic or alkaline. Acids lower the pH of a solution and bases raise the pH.

Well water is typically high in ions (both positive cations and negative anions) such as calcium and magnesium (the "hardness" minerals), sodium, potassium, nitrate, chloride and sulfate. The presence of these ions decreases the activity of the H + ion and increases the activity of the OH- ions, causing the water to be higher pH. Well-water pH is a function of the minerals taken into solution as the water moves through rock strata. In Santa Fe, our municipal water, which is commonly a blend of sources, has a pH ranging from 7.04 to 8.21, with both the low and high ranges occurring in Buckman Well Field water (2010 Water Report, Sangre de Cristo Water Division).

The term "alkaline" should not be confused with the term "alkalinity;' which refers to the "buffering" capacity of water, or its ability to resist or "buffer" changes that would make the water more acidic. The main sources of natural alkalinity, which limits swings in pH levels, are rocks containing carbonate, bicarbonate, and hydroxide compounds. Borates, silicates, and phosphates may also contribute to alkalinity.

Conversely, granite, which is a common aquifer in the Santa Fe foothills, has few minerals that contribute to alkalinity. Areas rich in granite have generally low alkalinity and therefore poor buffering capacity. We sometimes see low pH in water produced from fractured granite aquifers.

In general, reverse osmosis (RO) water, although extremely pure, has inherently low pH. This is not because of the RO process per se, but is a function of the fact that RO water has such low total dissolved solids, or mineral ions, that it has little or no buffering capacity. The easiest way to raise the pH of RO water to a more palatable, and less corrosive, pH level above 7.0, is to pass it through a food- grade, NSF-certified calcium carbonate (calcite) media filter. If you buy bottled water, most of which is mass-produced by RO, you can bet that the pH has been adjusted upward.

Stephen Wiman has a background in earth science (Ph.D. in geology) and is the owner of Good Water Company in Santa Fe.  He can be reached at 505-471-9036 and skwiman @ goodwatercompany.com.

Related Links:


What is pH and How is it Measured
Good Water Company
Is Rainwater Really Safe?
The Drinking Water Book - How to Eliminate Harmful Toxins from Your Water

For those of us paying attention to the weather in Santa Fe, a question increasingly coming up these days is when are we going to see watering restrictions? Especially since this is the driest it has been in a long time. Average precipitation for Santa Fe this time of year is normally 4.81 inches, and so far we have only received 0.67 inches, or 13.9% of average. It is worse for Albuquerque, which has seen only 0.19 inches thus far this year. Most of our state is experiencing a drought, as well as Arizona and Texas. Santa Fe has not seen this little precipitation since records have been kept. We should be extremely concerned about our water situation.

 

During our last severe drought in 2002, the city was within weeks of running out of water. The drought is even worse this year, yet thanks to actions taken by the city and our community, we are not now in the dire situation we were then. Our water supply is much more varied and our water use is down. 

 

Santa Fe no longer relies almost solely on the Santa Fe Water Shed for our drinking water. The number of city wells has increased from 2001 to today, (i.e. 5 more online today) our pumping capacity has increased, plus the Buckman Direct Diversion (BDD) came online in January of this year. Our available supply of water has increased to more than 22,000,000 gallons a day.  Although this supply is non-sustainable (i.e., we can't count on having this much water available in the wells, BDD, or the reservoirs in the future), it is still a major increase from what we were able to deliver a decade ago.

 

In years with typical snowfall and precipitation, we would now be using more water out of the Santa Fe Water Shed. Last year at about this time, our local reservoirs were at about 80% of capacity. This year they are at about 45%. So we are drawing down more of our reservoirs, and are pumping more out of the wells. These new supplies provide us an emergency insurance policy for the drought conditions we find ourselves in now. 

Since 2001, water conservation has also played a key role in providing us a more reliable water supply. Santa Fe's population grew 9.2% from 2000-2010, while our per person water usage dropped 28%. In 2001, we were using approximately 139 gallons per person per day, and today we are using less than 100 gallons per person per day.

But even with increased reserves and conservation, our current dry conditions are so severe that most of us are expecting the city to announce water restrictions. Our former tiered drought alert system, in use until recently applied a set of restrictions for each level of drought. Our city updated this system in 2007. Under Ordinance #1988-36, in Water Chapter 25,  the Water Division Director issues a drought alert based on the following set of conditions: 1) A general water supply shortage due to increased demand or limited supply; 2) Distribution or storage facilities of the city water system are inadequate to meet demand or minimum quality standards; 3) A disruption of the supply, storage, or distribution facilities of the city water or wastewater systems; 4) An unforeseeable disaster or water emergency such as an earthquake or other catastrophic event affecting the Santa Fe or Rio Grande river watershed, or groundwater supply, or other major disruption in the water supply or 5) A foreseeable water emergency, such as extended drought conditions (click on City Code and then Chapter 25).

 

Under this new plan, we have only emergency conditions: Orange and Red. Orange restricts watering to only twice a week and implements both pool filling and landscape planting restrictions. Red raises the bar and prohibits most landscape irrigation except with non-potable water (i.e., rainwater) and prohibits pool filling and car washing among other restrictions.

 

With our improved water supply and admirable water conservation efforts, don't expect Orange or Red restrictions to be announced anytime soon. However, a continued drought, fire in our water shed or any major unforeseeable event could drastically change our situation. The city of Santa Fe is doing their part; it is imperative we continue to conserve. It is one of the least expensive and most important actions we can take to ensure our water supply for today and future generations.

 

Related articles

• Record percentage of United States experiences 'exceptional drought' (cnn.com)

Algae is good for the plants, but very bad for the emitters so that is the dilemma. So it is a matter of balancing the filtering. Algae can be as small as .5 micron. The smaller stuff in algae is bacteria and beneficial to plants. A filter is recommended with every drip irrigation system because it removes sediment and other particles that are large enough to clog the emitters. Most tape and drip emitters can not handle up to anything large than this. So at least a 200 mesh filter MUST be used on any T-Tape system. There are, of course, smaller micron filters (i.e. a 200 mesh equals a 73 micron filter) that will take out much more. However, these are generally used in drinking water systems and not irrigation systems. Most irrigation filters you get will be this matter out without a problem.

One of my good friends, Pete Garcia, always complains about Santa Fe water rates. "We have the highest water rates in the country," he says. Well, Pete, I hate to say it, but that is just about correct.  Our base water rates aren't the highest in the country, but as our tiered and summer water rates schedule kicks in, we do have some of the highest rates. Yet compared to other cities in the world, our water is still downright cheap. 

In almost any place in the United States, we simply turn on the faucet and it flows. This amazing infrastructure was built over the last century and has supplied us cheap, plentiful water for decades. Abundant water, cheap electricity and a great road system have been the backbone of our economy over the last century. However, access to cheap, plentiful water is becoming a thing of the past, not only in the Santa Fe area, but around the country and the world. 

In the United States, we are fortunate to have accessible clean water at any price. Over 46% of the earth's population doesn't, and people in developing countries walk an average of 3.7 miles to get access to water. One in eight people on the planet lack access to clean water. 

Access to an additional water source has been the main driver for Santa Fe's multi-year water rate increase (i.e., 8.2% annual increase from 2009 - 2014).  Our local Buckman Direct Diversion (BDD) project is estimated to cost more than $200 million and will provide both the city and county access to 5,605 acre-feet of San Juan-Chama Project water per year (an acre-foot is approximately 325,851.4 gallons).

This water is more expensive than water pumped out of the ground or piped in from local reservoirs. But even this source will not provide us with all the water we will need in the future. We live in a high desert, arid region and simply do not have enough drinking water to meet our growing needs. Per the City of Santa Fe Water Conservation and Drought Management Report, we are over-pumping the groundwater wells resulting in damage to the underground aquifer. Even in the best of years, the Santa Fe River reservoirs can only supply about half of the water our region needs. In very dry years, they cannot supply much water at all and emergency water restrictions have had to be put in place.

Due to projects like this, in which water is accessed from further away or it is of lesser quality and requires more processing, , water rates are rising here and around the world.  Most cities are now facing similar challenges. 

For example, the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, which has historically enjoyed cheap water, faces the possibility that Lake Mead, the city's prime water source, will run dry in 13 years if usage is not cut back. The city's water agency, the Southern Nevada Water Authority, has undertaken a $700 million project to dig a bigger pipe into the lake. Scott Huntley, a spokesman for the agency, said they are concerned that the city is relying almost entirely on Lake Mead for its water, and officials were seeking alternate sources. Las Vegas is turning to rural counties to the north to quench a thirst that the nation's largest man-made reservoir can't sustain. Plans include drilling wells and building a $1-billion pipeline to tap rivers and groundwater from neighboring rural counties. This will not be cheap water.

Comparing data in the recently released Black & Veatch 2009/2010 Water/Wastewater Rate Survey, -Santa Fe has the fourth highest rates of the 200 hundred US cities included in the survey, behind San Diego, Seattle and Baltimore, in descending order. This comparison is looking at Santa Fe's rates for 3,500 gallons per month, not including sewer, connection charges, taxes or any other fees or summer usage rates.

However, at 15,000 gallons per month or more, Santa Fe has the highest rates of all the cities included in the survey. The City of Santa Fe's tiered rate structure of $15.81 per 1,000 gallons consumed makes our water cost almost twice as much as the nearest city: Austin, Texas.

For the cities included in the survey, the average cost of water from 2001-2009 has increased at a rate two times that of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). These rate increases are being driven by the increase in energy prices, increased demand, aging infrastructure, and the distance and water quality problems mentioned above.

In another study, the Global Water Intelligence (GWI) published a survey of water rates in 261 cities worldwide. In that survey, Santa Fe is not even close to the top, in fact, US water appears downright cheap compared to other cities in the world. The lovely cities of Copenhagen and Aarthus, both in Denmark, the price of water is more than $20.00 per 1,000 gallons versus $5.81 in Santa Fe [you said $15.81 two paragraphs up]. Other cities that are by far more expensive are Paris, France; Gent Belgium and Stuttgart, Germany -- all over $10.00 per 1,000 gallons. It is worth noting that more than a few international cities provide water free or nearly free and these cities are some of the largest water consumers.  

In Santa Fe, we are blessed to have had a drought that forced our hand to become much more focused on water conservation, to raise our water rates, and to create a tiered rate system to motivate the biggest water consumers to cut back. These forward-thinking measures are why we have enough water today, and we should thank our city staff for this. Our city is now one of the lowest water use cities in the United States. But even with all these efforts, expect water rates to continue rising. 

To avoid the highest water rates, conserve water to keep your water usage below 7,000 per month from September to April and 10,000 per month from May through August.  Water is not just a life-giving resource, it is also an economic engine. There is simply no more plentiful "cheap" water; consequently, water conservation will remain key to sustaining the beautiful area we live in.

 

We live in a land of vast abundance, but northern New Mexico is, of course, also prone to water shortage. Water has sustained life in Northern New Mexico for hundreds of years; however, history has shown that we are prone to prolonged droughts from time to time and consequently need to manage water very wisely.  

It is a life giving substance - enabling our communities and economies to survive and thrive. This becomes especially apparent from the air, where one can see a vast majority of NM's population living within miles of the Rio Grande. Santa Fe is lucky in that it has both the Rio Grande and the runoff from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains for its water supply. 

This easy access to water created an ideal location for our community and local agriculture. Garcia Street and the surrounding areas used to be farms not long ago. You can still see the sign for the old Gormley's trading goods store on Canyon Road, where local farmers would drop off their produce for folks from all around the area to buy. Of course, this store of bygone times is now a high-end art gallery, and its function has been replaced by the local farmers' markets.

To support an agrarian-based economy, Santa Fe used to have more than 30 active acquecias running through the city. These irrigation ditches were cleaned and maintained by the people living along them. They were the lifeblood of many northern NM communities. Of course, most are long gone, and we have moved from an agricultural-based economy to a more diverse, modern one. Although the method of moving our water has changed dramatically over the last century, our dependency on it has not. Water remains a local resource that is required for a strong, local living economy. 

Water is local and will remain local.

It has been the foundation of the economy for past decades and will continue for decades to come. It cannot be manufactured offshore, nor can it be outsourced. It is our most precious resource and it is the base on which our local economies are built. Even so, for most of us, water remains out of sight and out of mind.

Like our local produce, water is not a given and requires constant tending. Continued focus and investment is required to enable all of us to live in this area of abundant beauty. Without water, there is no growth, no local communities and no "us." We can be proud of our past water conserving efforts, but as any farmer will tell you -- last year's crop is no indicator for next year. 

Water is not only a life giving resource it also is an economic engine.  We have moved from an agrarian economy, to a mixed economy, but water is still critical to our growth.  Unnoticed, is it is also driving a growing number of thriving water-related businesses and we are truly blessed to have an unbelievable array of world-class water experts and water businesses that call Northern New Mexico home.   These businesses and individuals are local and can help us build a sustainable future in this arid area we all call home.

As published in the Santa Fe Real Estate Magazine, March 2011

Last year was a very busy, busy year with rainwater in the news around the world .  From the National Water Research and Development Initiative Act of 2009, which unfortunately was never voted on in the Senate, to the number of new manuals that have been published by various states to promote safe Rainwater Harvesting. Below are my picks for top stories of 2010 from around the globe.

• UK Rainwater Harvesting Market Grew 850% in the past 5 years
• National Water Research and Development Initiative Act of 2009
• APMO GTC finalizes green supplement and includes RWH
• Rainwater Is Safe To Drink, Australian Study Suggests
• Rainwater harvesting: quality assessment and utilization in The Netherlands
• Portland's Sewers Right as Rain
• Rainwater harvesting could be huge factor in safe yield efforts
• Stormwater: Waste or Resource?
• Rainwater is getting a serious look around the the world - Africa, Jamaica, Pakistan, Philippines
• A number of states published new Rainwater Harvesting related manuals - Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, Oregon

It was an amazing year to be involved in the rainwater market.  The HarvestH2o.com website continued to grow even in a difficult market, experiencing a growth in content, readers, vendors and visitors.  ARCSA had their largest annual conference in Austin, TX and as is apparent from the above others are beginning to sense the market opportunity.

If you think I missed a top story please let me know.

It is always difficult to pick the top stories of the year from literally hundreds and hundreds of articles and new stories. Below are my picks. From National Geographic Special Water Edition to the EPA finally updating Water Safety standards, it was quite a year.

1. National Geographic Special Edition - Water
2. Safe Drinking for All through Solar Disinfection
3. When Water and Energy Collide
4. Water is Life
5. The Oh Decade: Old water policies limit choices for future
6. Consumers Save Money, Water with EPA's WaterSense Program
7. Goodbye Pools, Lawns and a Whole Lot More: Why Life in the Southwest as We Know it Will Be History
8. Water Efficiency Is Key to Securing Our Water Supplies
9. Waterwise East Launches the Water Calculator to Make Water Efficiency Requirements Easier to Meet
10. EPA Proposes Updating Drinking Water Rule to Better Protect Public Health

If you think I missed a top story, please let me know.